CEDAR CITY, Utah – When the call comes to serve, Thunderbirds answer.
Whether through countless service projects across Southern Utah, lending a hand with initiatives across campus or even stepping up to help another SUU team in need, the spirit of service runs deep at Southern Utah University.
Last season, Kayleigh Acree took that spirit from the soccer pitch to the softball diamond.
"When the softball coaches came to me, they were really just looking for somebody who was fast and willing to help," Acree said. "My coaches immediately thought of me because they knew I'd be willing to do whatever I could. Then they found out I had played softball until I was 16 and that it had been my main sport growing up. At that point, I felt like I was the perfect person for the job. I had an opportunity to help another team when they needed it, and that was really important to me."
With the Thunderbirds softball team battling a series of offseason injuries, Acree, then a junior on the SUU soccer team, answered the call and traded her cleats for spikes, providing some much-needed speed and athleticism to the Thunderbirds' roster.
"Kayleigh is such a competitive athlete, and her speed gave softball something it needed," SUU head soccer coach Steven Lindquist said. "We are fortunate to have her as a soccer player, and softball was able to benefit from having her as a pinch runner. The most rewarding part is that dual-sport athletes get to build relationships with two groups of teammates and experience the unique culture of two programs. That is a really cool opportunity."
Despite joining a completely different sport with soccer spring training season underway, Acree found a way to contribute.
"My favorite part was definitely the girls," Acree said. "They were amazing, funny, supportive and so welcoming, and the coaching staff was the same way. The whole experience was incredible, especially because I got the chance to play softball again. It was always my dad's dream for me to play college softball, so the fact that I actually got to do that made it really special."
Acree appeared in eight games for SUU softball, primarily serving as a pinch runner. She crossed the plate three times and swiped a base during her brief stint on the diamond before returning her focus to soccer, where she now enters her senior season as a forward for the Thunderbirds.
"It's really special to see a student-athlete step up and help another program when called upon," Lindquist said. "Most of these athletes played multiple sports growing up, so it gives them an opportunity to reconnect with something they love while having a completely different team experience."
And while seeing a soccer player suit up for softball may have been unusual, Acree wasn't the first member of a Thunderbirds roster to make the crossover.
One of the most memorable examples came more than two decades earlier.
In 2004, former SUU women's basketball standout Casey Cooke elected to close out her collegiate athletic career on the softball diamond following a stellar career on the hardwood.
"I think of my time on the SUU softball team often," Cooke said. "It was seriously one of the best times of my life! I appreciated the opportunity to be on the team. I had so much fun."
Cooke quickly found a role with a Thunderbird squad that went on to post an impressive 38-18 record. Appearing in 29 games, primarily as a pinch runner, Cooke scored nine runs and stole eight bases during her lone season with the program.
Cooke has gone on to serve as an assistant coach with the Utah Summitt women's basketball travel team.
"Casey was an outstanding basketball player, but beyond that, she was simply a tremendous all-around athlete and a natural leader whom her teammates looked up to," former SUU softball head coach Laurel Simmons said. "At the time, we were dealing with several injuries and carried a much smaller roster than teams do today, so after her final basketball season, we invited Casey to join us as a baserunner. She fit in seamlessly and immediately strengthened our team. Her relationships with our players, positive attitude and willingness to help made her a perfect addition to our culture. Casey continues to coach and give back to young athletes today, and that does not surprise me at all."
Two athletes. Two decades apart. Two very different journeys to the softball diamond.
But both were connected by something distinctly Thunderbird. When another SUU team needed help, they answered the call.
Up Next
The Thunderbirds return home to open up Big Sky action on Thursday, October 1, at 4 p.m. on the Thunderbird Soccer Field against the University of Montana.
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